Carroll woman accused of theft from Ames store

A former jewelry manager at the Ames department store in Mount Airy was charged yesterday with stealing jewelry and cash from the store over a period of almost three years.

In documents filed in Carroll District Court, state police say Nancy Jean Sekulski, 31, of the 400 block of Windy Knoll in Mount Airy, would "take items -- mostly jewelry -- from the store" by placing them in her pocket.

Ms. Sekulski, the documents say, worked at the Twin Arch Road store from May 1990 to January 1991 and again from September 1991 to this February.

According to Peter Molinaro, the store's loss-prevention supervisor, Ms. Sekulski signed a written statement in which she confessed to stealing more than $2,000 worth of jewelry, the court documents said.

Ms. Sekulski also allegedly took small amounts of money from her cash register from time to time and tried to alter store records to hide the thefts, the court documents said.

In one instance, Ms. Sekulski stole a $999.99 bracelet from her store and returned it to the Frederick Ames store using a different name, state police allege. Using a false receipt she generated from her own cash register, she left the Frederick store with a "refund" of $239.99, court records say.

The theft of money and jewelry -- most of which has been returned to the store, police say -- enabled Ms. Sekulski to "buy Christmas and birthday presents" for her children, the court documents say.

When a state trooper interviewed Ms. Sekulski in April, she confirmed what she had told Mr. Molinaro, the court reports say. Several pages of jewelry transaction records were found in her house, apparently altered to disguise the stolen money and merchandise, the records say.

Also charged was Ms. Sekulski's 30-year-old brother-in-law, Robert G. Sekulski. According to the court documents, Ms. Sekulski once left a tray of silver necklaces on the counter for Mr. Sekulski to pick up. The necklaces, worth about $180, are allegedly still in Mr. Sekulski's possession, records say.

A criminal summons has been issued for Ms. Sekulski charging her with two theft scheme counts. A summons for Mr. Sekulski, of the 1200 block of Alban Court in Frederick, charges him with one count of misdemeanor theft.

A preliminary inquiry for both is scheduled for Aug. 9 in Carroll District Court.

If Ms. Sekulski is convicted on both charges, she could be sentenced to 30 years in jail and fined $2,000. Mr. Sekulski faces a maximum sentence of 18 months and a fine of $500.